Patrick Mercer investigation puts parliamentary groups under scrutiny

The system allowing MPs to set up special interest groups in Parliament has
come under scrutiny following the disclosure that Patrick Mercer formed such
an organisation for Fiji after being paid thousands of pounds by lobbyists.

The investigation into Patrick Mercer MP will put parliamentary groups under scrutiny.Photo: DAVID ROSE FOR THE TELEGRAPH

In secretly recorded conversations, Mr Mercer admitted that all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) could be “utterly useless” but suggested that they were attractive to MPs seeking trips to exotic locations. They also provided a way to hand out security passes for the parliamentary estate, he said.

The former shadow minister’s boasts will lead to claims that a lack of scrutiny has left a well-intentioned idea open to misuse. APPGs are informal, cross-party groups and cover a wide range of fields such as health, education and transport, as well as about 90 countries. They are chaired by MPs and peers and adopt Parliament’s portcullis logo, but have no formal powers.

Members often undertake fact-finding visits within Britain and abroad as part of the groups’ work. The organisations also provide opportunities for MPs to make contacts that, even if innocent at the time, can be useful once they have left Parliament.

They also allow lobbyists access to ministers at events hosted by APPGs, and in some cases full-time access to the Palace of Westminster through security passes that groups can allocate to external staff.

Analysis by The Telegraph of the latest Commons register of interests shows that 60 MPs declared that they have been on trips abroad in connection with APPGs in recent months.

According to the register, costs for the trips amounting to £175,000 were paid by third parties including charities, banks and oil companies.

MPs say the visits are a vital part of the work of APPGs, which includes scrutinising domestic policy and building relations abroad.

There is no suggestion that there is any wrongdoing by the MPs undertaking the trips, but critics say they raise questions about how many might by underwritten by lobbyists and foreign governments for their own ends.

In the latest register of interests, Chris Pincher, the Conservative MP for Tamworth, declares a four-day trip to Azerbaijan, funded by a donation of £2,975 from the European Azerbaijan Society, a Westminster organisation dedicated to “raising awareness” and encouraging closer links with European countries.

The society acts as the Azerbaijan APPG’s secretariat, carrying out administrative work on the group’s behalf, and is likely to have representatives at formal meetings.

According to the register, Mr Pincher visited Azerbaijan last July as part of an APPG delegation. Bob Blackman, the Tory MP for Harrow East who is the APPG’s secretary, and Stephen Hepburn, the Labour MP for Jarrow, appear to have been on the same trip, although their entries in the register of interests do not specify that their visits were in connection with the group.

There is no suggestion that the MPs have done anything wrong by not mentioning the link between the trip and the group, but their case highlights the inconsistency over the way such visits are registered.

The European Azerbaijan Society also funded trips for seven other MPs, none of whom are members of the APPG, and spent about £1,000 hosting Fiona Mactaggart, the Labour MP for Slough, in a box within the royal enclosure at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May last year. The day included buffet lunch, drinks, dinner, a souvenir book and commemorative scarf.

The following month Graham Stuart, the Tory MP for Beverley and Holderness and chairman of the APPG on the global legislators organisation (Globe), which helps parliamentarians develop legislation on sustainable development, went on a six-day trip to Rio de Janeiro to chair a session of the World Summit of Legislators. The trip, from June 13 to 19, was funded by Globe to the tune of £5,025.89 including flight and hotel expenses.

John Whittingdale, the Tory MP for Maldon and chairman of the British Ukraine all-party parliamentary group, visited Yalta for four days from Sept 13 last year. The £1,700 cost of flights to the Black Sea and £820 for accommodation were paid by the British Ukrainian Society.

The purpose of the visit, according to the register of interests, was to attend the Yalta European Strategy Conference “in my capacity as chairman” of the APPG.

Nigel Adams, the Conservative MP for Selby and Ainsty, was funded by Eggborough Power Station in North Yorkshire for an £8,578 visit to New Orleans from Oct 27 to 31. According to the register, he attended the second United States Industrial Pellet Association Conference and delivered a speech as chairman of the APPG on biomass.

In another trip, Simon Hughes, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, visited Cyprus and Turkey between May 27 and June 1 last year, with funding of £920, including £740 from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Mr Hughes’s register of interest states the visit was in his role as co-chairman of the APPG on conflict issues, to meet officials including British ambassadors and representatives of the governments of Turkey and Northern Cyprus.

Among governments to sponsor trips was Gibraltar, which funded nine MPs, including Dawn Primarolo, the former Labour health minister — who took her husband — to visit last September for its National Day. The Jordanian House of Representatives funded MPs from the APPG on Jordan to visit the country in April last year.

Richard Ottaway, the Conservative chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, visited Washington DC in January to receive an award from the Population Institute.

The trip was funded with £1,612 from the American institute and £1,500 from the APPG on population, development and reproductive health, of which Mr Ottaway is vice-chairman.

John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, last year established a working group with the Lords Speaker that looked into whether APPGs should publish minutes and accounts. They also said they were making inquiries about the funding of APPG activities, but have so far not made any conclusions or taken any action.